NGOs Unveils Educational Project In Bolga

The Centre for Sustainable Rural Development (CESRUD) in collaboration with Biblionef Ghana have jointly launched a project to improve on basic education in the Upper East Region.

The three-year-project which is funded by Lions Club International Foundation of the Netherlands and the Accra Chapter of the Diamond Lions Club of Ghana would provide books and other learning materials to all 20 basic schools in the Bolgatanga West 'B' Circuit.

The CESRUD is a non-profit organisation working to improve basic education and livelihood of women. It also works to equip the youth with entrepreneurial skills at Sumbrungu in the Bolgatanga Municipality.

Speaking at the launch of the project, Mrs Patricia Arthur, the Executive Director of Biblionef Ghana, said the NGO focused on creating conducive learning environment for less privileged children.

The schools, she said, would be stocked with relevant books and reading materials every year, to enrich the children's knowledge and improve on educational standards in the Municipality.

Mrs Arthur said 365 books and a cupboard each to keep the books were presented to the schools as the first phase of the project.

She announced that Biblionef Ghana would also construct a community library stocked with current books in the Sumbrungu community to encourage reading among the youth.

In addition, two teachers selected from each of the schools would be given library management training to guide their pupils.

"A library or Learning Community Space (LCS) as we call it will also be set up for the community. The LCS will have 1250 books, educational games, computers and tablets for the children to use.'

The Executive Director expressed optimism at the success of the project and appealed for collective efforts from the community to achieve the goal of improving quality of education at the end of the project.

"I wish to plead with all of us; teachers, parents, school authorities, educational officials, the community to do our very best to become involved in the project to the benefit of the children.'

Lion Francis Tachi, the past president of the Accra Diamond Lions Club, said the main objective of the club was to serve the needy and impact lives in communities through education and empowerment training for the youth, and therefore, encouraged the pupils to make good use of the books.

Mr Madison Amokase Anane, the Bolgatanga Municipal Director of Education, who chaired the function, commended the founder of CESRUD, Mr Rex Asanga for the initiative and urged teachers of the beneficiary schools to work hard to improve the performance of pupils.

Mr Amoako Anane, who urged the teachers to patronise the library, noted that attitudes exhibited by teachers formed part of causes of poor performance of pupils, and therefore, advised teachers to desist from acts that demoralised children.